A major problem in the dry toner imaging industry is the shipping of toner powder in specific weight increments to the user or toner cartridge remanufacturer. The remanufacturer normally receives toner in bottles. The bottles are usually made of plastic. These bottles and caps generally cost a lot of money and wind up in landfills after the bottles are used. Upon receiving these toner bottles, many remanufacturers normally "funnel" the toner into the toner hopper component of the toner cartridge. In so doing, much dust gets generated in the air, contributing greatly to the dust problem associated with a typical toner cartridge remanufacturing facility.
Cheap, abundant, plastic orange juice bottles are also used in the industry to contain and ship toner. One company uses milk cartons for packaging toner. Paper "pouches" have also been used. To use one of these pouches, a corner of the pouch is cut off and then the toner is poured through a funnel into the toner hopper. This cumbersome method generates a lot of dust in the funnelling process.
It is customary for the manufacturer of a printer or copying machine to fill the toner hopper with dry toner, and seal the opening of the toner hopper with a plastic sheet attached on the sides of the hopper and on each end of the hopper, just prior to assembling the toner hopper with the other components of a toner cartridge unit. When the toner cartridge is received at the using location, the seal is removed from the toner hopper section of the cartridge, and the printer or copier is ready for use, with the toner being exposed to the roller feed device for making copies. A problem with this is that when the enduser pulls this plastic sheet seal to remove it from the toner hopper, the seal is soiled on one side and some toner dust spills out. Consequently, the enduser may get toner on his hands, clothes, and all over the work area.
Recent developments in the dry toner imaging industry have led to the use of "throw-away" type toner cartridges, whereby the user of the copier or printer must buy a new, filled, toner cartridge from the manufacturer when the original toner hopper in the toner cartridge is depleted of toner. This method of throw-away toner cartridges is very expensive to the user of the copier or printer as a new cartridge is required each time the toner in the toner cartridge's toner hopper is depleted. The toner is expensive enough, but to add the expense of a new cartridge, with its toner dispensing means, adds a substantial amount of cost to the replacement procedure.
It has been customary in the past to throw away these very expensive, empty toner cartridges, and replace them with new, filled, and sealed factory toner cartridges. The manufacturers seal the toner hopper components in these new toner cartridges at their manufacturing location, and there is no leakage of the toner during shipment. This type of operation, using expensive throw-away cartridges, has therefore led to the need for a method and apparatus for re-filling, re-sealing, shipping, and re-using these toner cartridges, with the obvious savings of the cost of the new toner cartridge, in addition to the benefits of avoiding disposal and environmental problems. A device which attempts to meet this need must take into account that any leakage of dry toner from the toner cartridge is a major cleaning problem at best, and may cause severe soiling damage to the surrounding environment, in the normal accident, as well as damage to the equipment.
One product for re-sealing the dry toner hopper when refilling uses a plastic sheet, which slides into the slot in the toner hopper section of the toner cartridge created when the original seal is removed.
Another product for re-sealing the dry toner in the re-filled hopper uses a plastic sheet with a magnetic coating, to try to keep the dry toner from spilling during shipment to the user. Still others try to duplicate the factory method which may require disassembly and modification of the toner hopper and thorough cleaning of the seal-grooves.
These products do not provide good seals for various reasons and cannot be used with different types of toner hopper slots or openings. An invention was disclosed to solve toner leakage problems in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,182, granted Feb. 2, 1993. Three thin, flat, plastic or steel rectangles were made to form a seal-insert. Two were identical rectangles with a longitudinal centerline slot cut out for the purpose of allowing toner to fall through. These two rectangles sandwiched the third rectangle between them. The third rectangle had a similar slot however, which was open at one end. These three rectangles were pressed firmly together and sealed together to form a one piece seal-insert unit with an open longitudinal centerline slot. The middle rectangle's open-ended slot allowed a slide-seal to be inserted and removed. The seal-insert was intended for permanent insertion into a toner hopper. When the slide-seal, consisting of a stiff strip, slid into the slot of the middle rectangle, a seal was achieved so that toner powder could not leak out and the toner hopper could be shipped from one location to another.
But this seal, like the others, is not universal. Some toner hoppers do not have slots for receiving such seals. Additionally, prior seals fail to address the problem of toner distribution in pre-weighed amounts to the toner cartridge manufacturer/remanufacturer. Prior seals do not solve the problems of toner mess and litter by-products created when toner cartridge hoppers are refilled.
This invention relates to an apparatus for providing a way to seal and re-seal the toner hoppers of expensive toner cartridge used in dry toner printing, copying and facsimile machines. As a result, the toner cartridge may be shipped from one location to another without leakage of toner. The invention allows for shipping of pre-weighed amounts of toner and cleaner handling of the toner.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for refilling and re-sealing the toner hoppers of toner cartridges.
Another object of this invention is to enable pre-weighed amounts of toner to be used in the above method, without the need for pouring toner from a package device into a toner hopper.
A further object of this invention is to provide a clean toner handling and shipping system that may be made to fit into most types of toner hoppers.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a toner packaging device which is opened and emptied only upon operation of the toner cartridge in the printing, copying or facsimile machine.
In carrying out this invention in the illustrative embodiment thereof, a package such as a balloon or plastic bag is pre-filled with the required amount of toner by the toner bottler, and then shipped to the cartridge remanufacturer. The cartridge remanufacturer places the unopen package in the toner hopper of a toner cartridge. Either the package or a toner releasing device on the package is attached to a rotating component within the hopper, such as a conventional paddle used to prevent toner lumping within the hopper. When the user receives the refilled toner cartridge from the remanufacturer, the user simply loads the cartridge into the printing, copying or facsimile machine. When the machine is operated, the toner package is broken or opened by the rotating component, and toner is equally distributed along the length of the toner hopper.